The Era of the Cyber Bully

I remember the scandal of Moncia Lewinsky well. I was in upper elementary school/middle school and laughing at jokes that I did not understand - as a child. Monica speaks on hearing herself and cringing. I think about that often - what have I said that could get me canceled? That may have been mean spirited or ill informed? And on the flip side, what have I done or said that would land me in a place of ridicule? I often wonder if the case happened now, if the publis response would be different. Would women rise up around her and declare Mr. Clinton a predator? Would the other party get canceled instead? Could she have properly defended herself with a different set of societal norms?

With the onset of social media, there is more of an audience, more access to what you consider personal, yet make public I thank God daily that I did not grow up in the era of social media because having evidence of my stupidity would be terrible. Ms. Lewinsky also spoke of the perimeters expanding, making way for more people to express their opnions - founded or not. Even though the narrative may have changed, I can guarantee Monica would still have had her fair share of harrassment, and on an even grander scale.

This leads to the topic of cyberbullying and the effects that has on young people. With unlimited resources, I would love to partner with popular social influencers that have a huge following and get their true feelings on some of the comments they receive. There could be interviews with people who have made it to the other side. The PSA on Saturday mornings and afterschool used to be a prime time spot to captivate the target audience but it has since shifted to social media. These interviews would need to be part of a campaign and publicized where kids spend so much of their time. I believe these videos and posts could be made part of a larger curriculum for middle school to high school students. For younger learners, explicit lessons designed to in

still empathy and the power of words would need to be implemented. Common Sense media does a good job of this but can be more engaging. I think society as a whole takes for granted that our kids know what it means to be kind. So many of their lessons come from adults who cannot be kind themselves. Their must be emphasis on this!